Even when the football palled there was usually something happening in the crowd, and we were treated to several pitch invasions, one of which sparked a demonstration of close combat skills from Dennis Wise that vastly impressed everyone in the ground barring the referee. Unfortunately for us, the referee wasn't all that impressive either. In fact I would go so far as to say that he was a petty little bureaucrat who had no idea of the rules or the spirit of the game, just as they all appear to be in this competition. Add to that the fact that he turned down the most blatant penalty I and everyone else in the ground had ever seen, and that he constantly blew his whistle against just about any kind of tackle that didn't involve a written invitation, and you have some idea of the frustrations of European football. I mean, it's supposed to be a contact sport, but you wouldn't have thought so on last night's evidence.

Again we were right above the away fans, and an interesting and colourful lot they were too. They had a conductor of sorts, who stood at the front facing the stand. His method of whipping up the crowd was to wave his arms around like a demented sea lion while jiggling up and down, and I must say it appeared to be very effective. It also had a bad effect on the Chelsea fans around us, who were made to sit down by over-zealous stewards every time they stood up for some community singing, while this bloke was allowed to do what he liked. Needless to say this caused a huge rumpus, with Chelsea fans refusing to sit down until the Turkish Andre Previn sat down as well. It was threatening to get quite out of hand for a while, but the stewards obviously got a message down to the old bill in the Turkish bit, and they eventually sat this bloke down, to huge roars of approval from the Chelsea fans.

Galatasaray clearly had the better start, putting the Chelsea defence under sustained pressure for the first twenty minutes or so. Gheorge Hagi, although in his early seventies now, was quite simply the best Turkish player on the park, on a night when most of them excelled. The closest they came to scoring, however, was when Chris Sutton's powerful header looked destined for his own net, and De Goey was forced into acrobatically punching the ball away. The TV cameras appeared to show that the ball had crossed the line, but you can do anything with these new fangled computer thingies, can't you ? At any rate, it was bloody lucky it didn't result in a goal, or Sutton would've been finished, that's for sure.

The game flowed backwards and forwards for half an hour, with both teams playing some classic football, resulting in several near misses from each. Dennis Wise was playing as a forward most of the time, and had a couple of chances saved in the first ten minutes. The game finally turned our way in the 32nd minute, when Dan Petrescu was released one on one with the Brazilian keeper Tafarel, who decided to unilaterally extend his penalty area by saving at Dan's feet not far from the half way line. The ref immediately showed him a red card, whereupon he clutched his face in feigned agony, as if that would stop him being sent off. What an arse. The Turks were forced to sub an outfield player to get their reserve keeper on, and we were astounded that they chose to sacrifice their second best player, Arif, who'd been causing the Chelsea defence nightmares. Why they did it wasn't clear, but it definitely changed the balance of the game.

Almost straight away Chelsea's extra man exploited the inevitable gaps in Galatasaray's defences, but a succession of glaring misses characterised the rest of the half. Surprisingly, perhaps, Chris Sutton looked a half decent player at times, and had several headers and one wicked shot saved by the substitute keeper. At the other end, Ed De Goey was forced to tip a Hagi free kick round the post. Gabriele Ambrosetti was putting in some accurate crosses that Sutton and co failed to get on the end of, but it seemed inevitable that we'd score eventually. Half time came all too soon.

The second half carried on as the first had ended, with excellent build up play ruined by countless missed chances. Zola was inspired once again, and astonished both the crowd and the Turks with his invention and dazzling close control. The back four of Desailly, Leboeuf, Ferrer and Babayaro were as solid as they had been poor against Berlin. Surprisingly there was no Deschamps, but Jody Morris filled in so well that he was hardly missed, and I can think of no better compliment than that.

Petrescu looked dangerous once more space had been created by Tafarel's sending off, and Baba was equally threatening on the other side. After ten minutes or so, Ambrosetti, who I thought had had a great game, was sacrificed to get Gus Poyet into the action. Within seconds Gus had a header brilliantly saved from a Zola free kick, and it wasn't long before Dan Petrescu once again exploited the gap by running on to Sutton's flick, and he drove a hard shot from just outside the area that the keeper could only palm straight back into his path. He had time to control the ball, dodge round a defender and calmly slot the ball home past the stranded keeper. Bedlam ensued, and I found myself several seats away from where I'd been sitting, in a vain attempt to escape my mate Stewart's Glasgow Death Grip.

By the time I had recovered consciousness Desailly had been replaced by Hogh due to injury. Minutes later Zola was through on the left, but scuffed his shot wide. Galatasaray continued to try and catch us on the break, and looked extremely dangerous when doing so. Hagi sent a speculative shot from distance at De Goey, who had to crab along the goal line to save. I was impressed by the Turks' insistence on trying to get a goal even after going down to ten men, and I reckon they're a top side that could give any team in the world a hard time.

Several more near misses followed from Chelsea, with Petrescu, Leboeuf and Zola all failing to convert easy chances. Sutton was eventually replaced by Flo, but he'd had a good game. There was just time for one more piece of Zola magic, as Chelsea won a free kick just outside the area and to the right. Franco whipped the ball over the wall, but it crashed against the post with the keeper frozen to the spot. What a rare pleasure it is to see that man play. The match eventually ended after a succession of scares from an increasingly lively Galatasaray. All in all it was a good win, but the scoreline left a lot to be desired. Still, a win's a win. I won't be holding my breath regarding our chances at Milan and Galatasaray, but at least we've played some great football and learned some important lessons in this campaign.

It's worth mentioning that the atmosphere during the this and the Milan game was the best I've ever experienced at Stamford Bridge. It really is noticeable how much more involved the crowd becomes on these occasions, and it seems to affect the players, who were absolutely superb. If you asked me to choose a man of the match I would have to go for Jody Morris. His commitment, speed and skill would grace any team in the world, and he'd be a first choice in any other team in the Premiership. He tends to get the red mist a bit too often, though, and needs to learn the delicate balance between controlled aggression and foul play that his captain has so spectacularly failed to do.

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